‘Your computer has been locked!’ Ransomware

‘Your computer has been locked!’ Ransomware Description

The 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware is a bogus warning message that criminals will use to try to extort money from inexperienced computer users. This malicious message impersonates a communication from the FBI and the Department of Justice and is aimed at computer users in the United States. ESG security researchers have observed a dramatic increase in the number of ransomware infections similar to the 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware, particularly in Europe, where these fake alert messages will target computer users in different countries and use different languages and police department logos. ESG security researchers strongly advise against paying the $200 dollar fine mentioned in the 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware message. This fake warning has no actual relationship with the FBI or any other legitimate law enforcement agency. Rather, 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware is part of a well-known scam that targets inexperienced computer users. Instead of paying the 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware's ransom, ESG security researchers recommend removing this malware threat with the help of a reliable anti-malware utility.

This fake warning message will take up your whole screen and prevent you from accessing your files or Windows components such as the Windows Desktop or the Windows Task Manager. The 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware message uses threatening language and claims that the victim's computer was involved in unlawful activities such as viewing child pornography. The 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware message goes on to threaten the victim with jail time and hefty fines unless a one-time $200 payment is made via MoneyPak (a legitimate money transfer service not directly associated with these kinds of illegal enterprises). Unfortunately, inexperienced computer users may be coerced into paying this amount, even though payment does not guarantee that the victim will regain access to the infected computer.

ESG security researchers have observed that the main difficulty in removing the 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware infection is, in reality, obtaining access to the compromised machine. Fortunately, you can do this by starting up Windows in Safe Mode and accessing the Registry Editor. Then, all that needs to be done is to remove a bogus Google Chrome Registry entry which is easy to spot due to the fact that it isn't actually associated with the Google Chrome web browser. ESG security researchers recommend executing a complete scan of your hard drives utilizing a capable anti-malware program to ensure that all components associated with the 'Your computer has been locked!' Ransomware are gone.

Infected with ‘Your computer has been locked!’ Ransomware? Scan Your PC for Free

Security Doesn't Let You Download SpyHunter or Access the Internet?

Solutions: Your computer may have malware hiding in memory that prevents any program, including SpyHunter, from executing on your computer. Follow to download SpyHunter and gain access to the Internet:

Use an alternative browser. Malware may disable your browser. If you're using IE, for example, and having problems downloading SpyHunter, you should open Firefox, Chrome or Safari browser instead.

Use a removable media. Download SpyHunter on another clean computer, burn it to a USB flash drive, DVD/CD, or any preferred removable media, then install it on your infected computer and run SpyHunter's malware scanner.

Start Windows in Safe Mode. If you can not access your Window's desktop, reboot your computer in 'Safe Mode with Networking' and install SpyHunter in Safe Mode.

IE Users: Disable proxy server for Internet Explorer to browse the web with Internet Explorer or update your anti-spyware program. Malware modifies your Windows settings to use a proxy server to prevent you from browsing the web with IE.

Technical Information

Screenshots & Other Imagery

More Details on ‘Your computer has been locked!’ Ransomware

The following messages associated with ‘Your computer has been locked!’ Ransomware were found:

Your computer has been locked!
This operating system is locked due to the violation of the fedefal laws of the United States of America! (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8; Article 202; Article 210 of the Criminal Code of U.S.A. provides for a deprivation of liberty for four to twelve years.)
Following violations were detected:
Your IP address was used to visit websites containing pornography, child pornography, zoophilia and child abuse. Your computer also contains video files with pornographic content, elements of violence and child pornography! Spam-messages with terrorist motives were also sent from your computer.
Tis computer lock is aimed to stop your illegal activity.
To unlock the computer you are obliged to pay a fine of $200.
You have 72 hours to pay the fine, otherwise you will be arrested.
You must pay the fine through MoneyPak:
To pay the fine, you should enter the digits resulting code, which is located on the back of your Moneypak, in the payment form and press OK (if you have several codes, enter them one after the other and press OK).
If an error occurs, send the codes to address fine@fbi.gov

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The ESG Threat Scorecard is an assessment report that is given to every malware threat that has been collected and analyzed through our Malware Research Center. The ESG Threat Scorecard evaluates and ranks each threat by using several metrics such as trends, incidents and severity over time.

In addition to the effective scoring for each threat, we are able to interpret anonymous geographic data to list the top three countries infected with a particular threat. The data used for the ESG Threat Scorecard is updated daily and displayed based on trends for a 30-day period. The ESG Threat Scorecard is a useful tool for a wide array of computer users from end users seeking a solution to remove a particular threat or security experts pursuing analysis and research data on emerging threats.

Each of the fields listed on the ESG Threat Scorecard, containing a specific value, are as follows:

Ranking: The current ranking of a particular threat among all the other threats found on our malware research database.

Threat Level: The level of threat a particular PC threat could have on an infected computer. The threat level is based on a particular threat's behavior and other risk factors. We rate the threat level as low, medium or high. The different threat levels are discussed in the SpyHunter Risk Assessment Model.

Infected PCs: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter's Spyware Scanner.

% Change: The daily percent change in the frequency of infected PCs of a specific threat. The formula for percent changes results from current trends of a specific threat. An increase in the rankings of a specific threat yields a recalculation of the percentage of its recent gain. When a specific threat's ranking decreases, the percentage rate reflects its recent decline. For a specific threat remaining unchanged, the percent change remains in its current state. The % Change data is calculated and displayed in three different date ranges, in the last 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days. Next to the percentage change is the trend movement a specific malware threat does, either upward or downward, in the rankings. Each level of movement is color coded: a green up-arrow (∧) indicates a rise, a red down-arrow (∨) indicates a decline, and a brown equal symbol (=) indicates no change or plateaued.

Top 3 Countries Infected: Lists the top three countries a particular threat has targeted the most over the past month. This data allows PC users to track the geographic distribution of a particular threat throughout the world.

Ranking:

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Threat Level:

Infected PCs:

85

One Comment

What about on mobile devices, because my phone that I just got from my parents yesterday has the same problem. Please help me! Im 14 yrs old and the tablet that I got before this device is broken, so my parents will flip if they see this &quot;child porn block&quot; stuff. Please help me, please.